Decorating with succulents at Christmas makes the perfect topiary tree centerpiece needing much less care than a floral arrangement and looks good for months. I started my tree last February so the succulents would have plenty of time to grow in, but you can create a stunning tree by using rosettes of succulents from full grown plants in the morning and by the evening, it will be ready to grace your table..
When I spotted succulent Christmas trees made up at a local nursery last Christmas for hundreds of dollars, I was inspired to create my own for Christmas. Succulents are so versatile that I use them in many decorating ways. Air plants are right up there in popularity and ease of growing.
Other succulent ideas for a cool gift to a plant loving friend is a tiny garden chock full of succulents and Christmas miniatures. For Thanksgiving Succulent decorating ideas, go to A Succulent Thanksgiving or Succulent Pumpkin Centerpiece.
Branch out and explore the many textures and colors of succulents. I enjoy the sculptural colorful quality of succulents so much that I continue to find ways to use them around the house and garden.
DIY Christmas Tree
Preparation
Taking weeks to root and fill in, I wanted to make sure that my tree was fully grown in for the holidays, so I started the tree last February. Small succulents in two to three inch pots are available in big box stores for a good price and if you have any existing containers of succulents, you can trim the tips off for cuttings. But don’t despair! If you are making your tree now, simply use more cuttings to fill the surface in fuller, plus you can hide gaps with reindeer moss.
Aim for a variety of colors and textures when you select your succulent to make the tree attractive and interesting. There are so many varieties of succulents that this isn’t hard to do. Containers are dotted around my property in the fall and I can’t bring them all in, so I take cuttings of them to root into my tree form.
Echeverias are my go-to for tree selections and they form a nice large rosette. One called ‘Red Velvet’ is sold extensively during Christmas because of the garnet colored fuzzy markings.
Step By Step for a Succulent Tree
- Cut off a piece of chicken wire about 18 inches in length. This length depends on the size of the tree that you want to end up with. Mine ended up at 15 inches tall and 10 inches wide at the base.
- Form the chicken wire into a cone and fasten together by bending the ends in.
- Saturate sphagnum moss in water and stuff the form with the moss firmly; Be sure to pack the moss so that you have a firm base to work with
- If taking cuttings, I cut the growing tip off, measuring between 2 to 5 inches in length, and strip off the lower leaves and let the cuttings sit out at room temperature for a few hours to form a callous.
- If you are using small potted plants, remove the plant from the pot, shake off most of the soil from around the roots and you are ready to insert this into the moss form
- Using a pencil or sharp pointed stick, insert the point into the sphagnum moss and wiggle the end to make the hole larger enough to receive the cutting or plant
- Insert the cutting as far as you can; If the cutting is loose, you can use wire fern pins to hold it steady
- Place the full moss cone into a pot of soil and fasten the edges to the soil with fern pins
- For the first couple of days, keep the cone in the shade, gradually moving out to the sun, when the cuttings start to root which can take only a week or two
- To water, submerse the cone into a bucket of water for a few minutes until thoroughly saturated, about once a week; alternatively, you can thoroughly mist the entire tree
- As the plants grow, you will need to cut off the tips, and use these cuttings to fill in holes
My succulent tree kept growing all summer long and periodically, I would cut off a tip that was getting really long and fill in a bare spot so that by the end of the growing season, my tree was completely filled in.
If you want to see how to make other succulent creations, such as a wreath, a sphere, and a tiny garden, go to Succulent Creations to see step by step of making other shapes.
Finally for Christmas, I placed the pot into a decorative container and decorated with some Christmas balls. As a finishing touch, I stuck some reindeer moss and/or tiny air plants into any empty spaces.
To keep the tree alive over the winter, I will place it in a sunny window and keep it watered by immersing it in the tub periodically so everything should root in and the succulents will start to actively grow.
